The Howling Storm
by The Dark Warden
Summary: Aela Potter has never been one to take things at face value. She's never been one to obey simply because someone else was older or wiser. This has put her at odds with a few Powerful people. She has a BIG secret. One that is about to come to Light. (Fem Harry, Powerful Harry, Light-Gray Harry. Don't like, don't read.)
1. Chapter 1

"Oh, that's not good…RON RUN!"

The red headed Gryffindor looked up in confusion before his blue eyes widened in horror. One of the hands clasping his rat lifted and pointed behind his friends. "AELA, HERMIONE RUN! IT'S THE GRIMM!"

Aela Tala Potter spun on the spot, midnight black mane flaring around her skull as her gleaming green eyes locked onto the massive black hound behind them. The beast growled menacingly as Aela not-so-subtly put herself in front of Hermione. The black dog's pale eyes were filled with fury and hunger, but oddly, they didn't seem to be locked on either of the girls before it. Instead, it looked to be glaring at…

_Ron?_

Aela didn't have time to react as the beast exploded into motion, bolting toward them on long, powerful legs. It leapt; not at Aela or Hermione as she would have assumed; but instead at the gangly red-head with the rat. The black beast leapt clear over the girls' heads, landing hard before bolting to Ron. Its gleaming white teeth clamped down hard on Ron's leg, before it began to drag him toward the Whomping Willow, the very tree that Aela had told Ron to run from just moments earlier.

The green-eyed girl attempted to grab hold of the Grimm's fur, but still it dragged her gangly friend as though he weighed as much as a House Elf. Her jaw clenched as she prepared to use more of her strength than she normally did when—

**WHACK!** Something struck the thirteen-year-old across the face with absurd force, flinging her a good ten meters through the air. A shriek and a thud close by told her that Hermione had been struck as well. The teen growled as she groped for her ebony and phoenix tail feather wand as she pushed herself to her feet, ignoring the itching sensation of the cut upon her brow sealing itself as all her wounds did. She quickly wiped the blood from her brow.

With a twirl of her wand, she cried, "_Lumos!_"

The tip of the unyielding rod lit up like a spot light, the light falling on the chaotic dance of the killer Tree's branches as they protected its trunk. At the base of the tree, she could see Ron fighting furiously to get the Grimm off him, the great black beast dragging him through a gap in the roots. Even with all his struggling, his head and torso were already out of view.

"Ron!" Aela tried to move forward to help, but she was forced back as she barely managed to dodge a thick branch swinging at her head, the ends clenched into a fist.

All they could see was one of Ron's legs now, which he had hooked into one of the roots in an attempt to keep from being dragged into the shadows beneath the Whomping Willow. A horrible crack filled the air like a gunshot, the sound making Aela wince as her gangly friend was dragged underground with a scream as his leg snapped.

"Aela—we have to go for help—" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding. The tree had cut her across the shoulder.

"That thing's big enough to eat him, Hermione!" Aela snapped as she ducked another branch aiming to hit her in the head. "We leave, there might not be anything left of Ron when we get back! If that dog can get through, so can we!"

She surged forward, ignoring Hermione's scream for her to come back. She darted to and fro, her instincts screaming whenever a branch tried to strike her. She rolled to the right as the tree tried to smash her with its entire massive weight. For a moment, she was glad Hermione couldn't see her face, as she was sure her eyes were glowing with brilliant green light by now as she let herself cut loose more and more as she dodged, leapt, rolled and dived as she avoided the lethal limbs.

"Help…someone, please help…" she heard Hermione whimpering as a particularly thick branch nearly took her head off as she got closer to the gap in the roots. Out of the corner of her eye, Aela noticed a blur of orange moving toward the tree: Crookshanks. The cat slithered between the swinging branches like a serpent to place his front paws upon a knot on the trunk. Abruptly, as though the Willow had been turned to stone, the tree froze, with not even a twig twitching.

Aela rose from her crouched position, closing her eyes for a moment as she reined herself back in. She felt a growl deep in her mind that was followed with grumbling acknowledgement as she felt her eyes slowly dim until they were their normal green. She opened her eyes and looked to Hermione as the bushy-haired girl stared at her cat.

"Crookshanks!" she whispered. Her hand gripped Aela's arm painfully hard. "How did he know—?"

"He's friends with the dog. I've seen them together," Aela said grimly as the cat turned his squished face toward her. "Come on—and keep your wand out."

They moved the last few feet to the gap in the tree trunk, Aela keeping an eye on the killer tree as she carefully slipped into the darkness, silently lighting her wand as she turned to help Hermione into the tunnel that was hidden beneath the tree.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione whispered in a terrified voice; not that it helped, the tunnel made it sound as though she were speaking normally.

"This way," Aela said as her eyes caught sight of a trail of blood on the floor of the stone tunnel in the light of her wand. She grimaced as she felt a familiar ache in her bones. The Moon was rising. Brilliant. She set off with a wide gait, her back bent painfully as she moved.

"Where does the tunnel let out?" Hermione asked breathlessly behind her as she kept close.

"No idea. It's on the Marauder's Map but Fred and George said no ones used it in the time they had the Map. Looked like it headed towards Hogsmeade though last time I had the map." Aela said with a grumble. She was still a bit cross about Professor Lupin taking the map from her. For whatever reason, it felt like Snape had confiscated her father's cloak or her mother's pendant just to be an ass.

Said pendant was currently hanging from a long chain around her neck, a snarling wolf with emerald crystals for eyes. The black titanium made the green pop against the black. She had found it in her vault just after she had had Griphook cut Dumbledore off from the Potter resources. The old man had been taking absurd levels of money from her family's vaults for years even as he used the Potter vote in the Wizengamot to further his political career. And then had the audacity to call himself her Magical Guardian when he had never even spoke directly to her the first eleven years of her life. And only decided to talk to her after she had killed Quirrell so he could lecture her about what killing did to the soul. And again, last year when she had killed the Basilisk after she had used to Sword of Gryffindor to take off Shade-Riddle's head as he tried to use a Dark Ritual to not only resurrect himself, but also to turn Ginny Weasley into his slave.

Aela still had nightmares of that night. Of all the blood from a trio of fourth year Ravenclaws and a pair of Pureblood Slytherins. Of the cruel, cold look in the blue eyes of the bright young lady she had enjoyed tutoring as she was progressively brain-washed and corrupted by the psychopathic bastard who; for him at least; would one day be responsible for the death of her parents. Of the primal fury that had ignited in her heart as Riddle had laughed at her attempts to snap Ginny out of the spell that was turning the red-head into a monster.

She shook her head as she refocused on what she was doing here and now. She could worry about her plans to kick Dumbledore from his numerous positions after she was sure that Ron was safe. After what felt like forever, the tunnel finally began to rise, allowing the teenagers to gasp for breath as the pressure was taken off their lungs. That crazy cat was gone, leaving Aela's head to poke through a hole in the floor of an old, decrepit room. Her eyes widened at the small puddle of blood at the edge of the hole. A quick sniff told her it was Ron's blood. She'd smelt it enough times over the last couple years to be very familiar with it.

The room itself was very dusty, the only sign of life being the paw prints, the drag marks and the trail of blood that led out of the room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were old stains that look suspiciously like blood all over the floor, and every piece of furniture in the room was broken as though someone had smashed it with a Gravity Hammer…Don't judge, she's a teenaged kid with a lot of time on her hands and no pain in the ass relatives to tell her off. Twas inevitable that she'd get her hands on some video games.

Aela looked at Hermione, who's head had just popped up through the hole. She looked terrified but nodded at her raven-haired friend.

Aela pulled herself up and out of the tunnel, avoiding the puddle of blood before turning and helping Hermione as well. She took a deep breath, attempting to find Ron and the Dog. Unfortunately, the old house was ripe with an army's worth of scents, ranging from animals to people who might've snuck in over the years for one reason or another. The only thing she could smell with any certainty was Ron's Blood. And with all the different scents soaking the wood and air, she couldn't tell for certain where her friend was.

Hermione grabbing her arm snapped her out of her thoughts.

"I think we're in the Shrieking Shack." The bookworm whispered.

Aela frowned and cast a look around. Her green eyes fell on a chair near the door. Large chunks hand been torn out of it; one of the legs had been ripped off entirely.

"Ghosts didn't do that." Aela said slowly as her emerald eyes snapped up and her wand arm raised, her left-hand hovering near the large combat knife with a serrated blade she had started carrying on her belt around after Second Year. She felt Hermione's eyes on at the base of her spine where her knife sat hidden beneath her jacket as she lit the tip of her wand and started moving forward.

_Creeeeeaaaaaak_

Emerald and light brown eyes shot upwards as something moved above them. Hermione's grip on Aela's arm was so tight her hand was going numb. Bright green eyes moved to Hermione and quirked an eyebrow at her. The bushy-haired bookworm blushed and quickly released her arm.

As quietly as they could in such a decrepit old building, they crept through the house, Aela's wand held high enough to illuminate the house before them. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, a wide path cleared of the dirt from something being dragged across the floor, the trail of blood in the center of the path.

_Ron's losing too much blood. Gotta find him before he bleeds out…_

The two girls reached a dark land halfway up the stairs. The sound of whimpers echoed through the house from a room above them. Green eyes met Brown as the girls looked to one another. They exchanged a nod.

"_Nox,_" they whispered together, the lights at the end of their wands blinking out of existence. A single door was partially open across from the stairs. As they ascended the stairway with wands raised, Aela tilted her head and listened. She heard two, maybe three heartbeats, one of which was a bit slow; the owner was calm; the other was very fast; probably Crookshanks; and the last was a heart that was beating quickly from fear. Ron.

Movement sounded behind the door and one of the hearts seemed to move, then fall silent. Aela's brow furrowed in confusion at the absence of the third heart, but she shook her head as she heard Ron's pain-filled moan and that damnable cat's loud purring. Aela looked to Hermione. The bushy-haired Gryffindor nodded. Aela turned back to the door.

Her wand clutched tightly in her hand, she raised her leg and kicked the door open, the old wood panel flying off the hinges to hit the wall across the room.

On a magnificent four-poster bed that looked to have once been very expensive, Crookshanks lay on the mattress, purring loudly as he made himself comfortable. On the floor beside him, clutching a leg that was bent at a very wrong angle, was Ron.

Aela moved quickly, snatching up two sturdy-looking bits of wood off the floor as she moved toward her friend. Without waiting for Ron to speak, she quickly set the leg; ignoring Ron's yelp of pain as the bone snapped back into place; and wrapped it with gauze she pulled out of her jacket to staunch the bleeding. Using the wood to brace his leg, she quickly used the remainder of the gauze roll to wrap his leg just tight enough to keep it from shifting before they could get him to Madam Pomfrey.

"Ron—are you okay?" Hermione asked franticly as she reached his side. "Where's the dog?"

Aela looked back and forth as a vaguely familiar stench hit her nose. One she had only smelt once before…

"Not a dog," Ron moaned as his blue eyes locked on something behind his friends. "It's a trap—"

"What—" Hermione began.

"He's the dog…his an Animagus…"

Aela stood slowly and turned her green eyes to the entrance of the room. There was a light pop and the third heartbeat returned, beating faster than before as a man stepped out of the shadows.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung down to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, He might've been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a slightly mad grin. It was Sirius Black.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he croaked. Hermione's wand shot out of her hand in an instant, which Black caught. Aela's on the other hand didn't so much as twitch from her steel grip on the jet-black rod. Green eyes locked on stormy gray, and Aela was mildly surprised to see pride in Black's eyes as his mad grin softened ever so slightly, becoming something that she might've fought to see once.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend," he croaked hoarsely. It had been some time since he had talked to anyone, that much was clear. "Your father would have done the same thing for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful…"

"The teachers tend to be a bit useless, all things considered," Aela said as she shifted ever so slightly, allowing her left hand to grip the handle of her knife. "Hence why I prefer to deal with things myself."

With that, she surged forward, knife flashing from the scabbard to allow the serrated black steel blade to rest against Black's throat even as her wand hand wrapped around his wrist with a steel grip in the time it took for him to flinch back in surprise.

Black froze, his gray eyes locked onto her intense green. And then he smiled, pride filling his sunken features. "Just like your mother…Lily never relied on just her wand. Always had a few blades on her just in case…scared the piss out of the Death Eaters who thought her helpless just because she didn't have her wand on her."

Aela couldn't help but give a feral smirk. "Understandable. You wizards rely so heavily on magic that you think your opponent's helpless just because they don't have a wand. And personally, I hate guns. Too inaccurate for my tastes."

Her blade pressed against his throat. "Now, you're going to explain exactly what the bloody hell you're after, because I'm not stupid enough to think you've been after me this whole time."

She heard Hermione and Ron exchange a glance behind her as Black frowned. "And how do you know I've not been after you?"

"Because unlike the Ministry and the faculty, I pay attention to the facts. I listen and put the pieces together. Because I'm not a massive fucking idiot like the rest of Magical Britain!" She snarled, baring her teeth in anger. All year, people had been insisting that he was trying to kill her. But a few favors called in and she had discovered that there had been no trial for Sirius Black. That he had been carted to Azkaban on the words of several dazed and discombobulated Muggles who had just been subjected to a blast that had leveled everything within a couple dozen feet in every direction.

"Aela…what are you talking about?" Hermione asked behind her.

"There was no trial for Sirius Black. He had been carted straight to Azkaban on the word of several Muggles who had heard only what Pettigrew had been screaming right before the street exploded. He's had multiple chances to kill me and yet he never did. And thanks to some stories from McGonagall, Flitwick, and Hagrid, I know that my dad and Sirius were like brothers. That Sirius was disowned in all but official channels by his psychotic mother for being a halfway decent person. Logically, it makes absolutely no sense for him to turn against my parents, and even less for him to support ol' Moldy Shorts and his mad crusade."

She wasn't at all surprised that Black let loose a bark of laughter at her derogatory nickname for Riddle.

"Moldy Shorts!?" Black wheezed as he laughed. "Oh, that's brilliant! James would've loved that!"

Aela smirked as she slowly removed her knife from Black's neck and pulled Hermione's wand from his grip. He let her and simply stood there smiling as she backed up.

"Aela, what are you talking about? What facts?" Hermione pressed as Aela returned her friend's wand to her.

Aela locked eyes with Black before she spoke. "If that dog was Black the whole time, then this would be the third time I've seen him in that form. The first was outside my home in Southern Ireland, where I've been living since the end of First Year. Ron, you know the place."

She heard a grunt of agreement.

"He didn't attack me then. He simply stared until the Knight Bus arrived to take me to Diagon Alley… still not sure how it got across the water…" she shook her head and continued "The second time was during the Quidditch match where I lost my broom. He was there in the stands as a dog. Shall I assume that you were there to see if I flew as well as James?" she said to Black, who grinned.

"I was. And you fly even better than James did. He would have been sobbing at someone being better than him at Flying." The corpse-like man grinned.

Aela nodded as her theory was proven true. "Also, the Firebolt. Both extremely expensive and uncursed. Your attempt to make up for twelve years of missed Birthday's, I take it?"

Black nodded with a wide grin. "I know it doesn't make up for the years I wasn't there, but I hope it's a good start."

Aela hummed before continuing, intense emerald eyes not leaving Black's face.

"Next, when we heard the Minister talking about Black, he said that he was saying 'He's at Hogwarts'. He. Not 'she'" Aela pointed out. "At first, I assumed you were slurring your words, because surely the man meant to be my godfather knew that I was a girl, not a boy. But then the break in at Gryffindor Tower happened. I was in the Common Room, asleep on the couch with my wand a good five feet from me. It would've been simple for you to slit my throat and move on, but instead you stared for about a minute before you moved on. And headed right up to the Boys' Dormitory, where you opened Ron's curtains in search of, what? I wondered. And instead of killing him and moving on to your target as you would've had you been a cold-hearted murderer as many insisted, you instead fled as soon as he screamed, harming no one on the way out."

"And finally, the Marauder's Map. Your handy work I take it?" Aela added with a grin as Black blinked in surprise. "Masterful charms work, I must say. Imbuing a piece of paper to track every person in the Castle and on the grounds in real time as well as noting what they were doing? Impressive for a group who weren't exactly known for their Charms grades. That was the cincher that the Ministry's story about you betraying my parents to Riddle and killing Pettigrew was nothing but a massive load of Thestral shit. I checked the charms on the Map several times before Lupin took it from me. No degradation in the spells, nor any feedback from any external sources. So, it was impossible for it to be malfunctioning when it said that Peter Pettigrew was in the castle. I went looking, but even when his name was right next to me, I saw and heard nobody in the immediate area. Shall I assume he too is an Animagus, perhaps say…a rat?"

She grinned as Black's jaw dropped open, even as Hermione and Ron gasped.

Whatever she might've said next was interrupted when Professor Lupin charged in through the door, wand raised. His mouth was open in preparation for a spell, one that died on his lips once he saw that no one was trying to kill anyone. Yet.

The grey-haired man looked to Black and spoke in a serious voice. "Where is he, Sirius?"

"You missed all the fun, Professor. I've already deduced that Pettigrew is alive and Black is innocent." Aela's voice pulled Lupin's eyes to her slightly smug smirk. "If Black had betrayed a Fidelius Charm as well as his Godfather oath, he would've been punished severely, his magic turning upon himself until he was unable to use magic without hurting himself. Seeing as he is still capable of using his Animagus abilities as well as common spells, the only logical conclusion is that he broke no oaths, betrayed no one. If I were to hazard a guess, my parents made Pettigrew Secret-Keeper to throw people off the scent, as Black would have been the obvious choice."

Lupin blinked numbly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as he stared at the teenager with intense green eyes, a smug grin sitting on her lips even as Ron's accursed rat squealed in terror as the red-head struggled to hold him.

"Might I ask how you know things that are far beyond the knowledge of the Third-Year Student, Ms. Potter?" Lupin inquired with a raised brow.

Aela grinned. "My mother disagreed with a great many of the laws of Magical Britain and hid a great many tomes and objects of interest that covered a great many subjects within my current place of residence, a place no one can enter unless I give express permission. Only about thirty-five percent of the books and scrolls in question are things that you could find in any Ministry Approved library. Useful against any wanna-be Dark Lord who didn't bother to learn any actual Dark Magic. The remaining sixty-five percent of the horde are all on things that the Ministry restricted simply for the sake of restricting it. Tomes on things such as Elemental War Spells, different types of Magic Rituals; both Light and Dark; journals on different magical creatures from around the world, a fair amount of powerful magical weapons and artifacts from across the world, and a few very nice sets of enchanted armor from ages past."

Lupin's jaw dropped in surprise as Aela listed off the many things her brilliant mother had hidden away during her years after Hogwarts. He sighed. "Why I'm surprised, I have no idea. Your mother was constantly railing against the laws of Magic Britain, it shouldn't be a surprise she would do something like that."

Hermione sighed as she slumped behind Aela, causing her raven-haired friend to turn toward her. "Something wrong, Hermione?"

The bushy-haired Gryffindor shook her head. "Not really. I just thought I had it all figured out. But you went and did it yourself with no loose ends. Except for the fact that—"

"That Lupin is a werewolf? I know." Aela cut in, causing Hermione, Ron and Lupin to gape at her. "What? I solve a mystery that everyone else in this damned country couldn't figure out in a few months when everyone else had twelve years to do it and you think I'd miss the fact that Lupin was always sick on the full moon? Hermione, I've survived as long as I have by being perceptive and being able to put the puzzles together. That, and I've had Anti-Dementor lessons with him for the last several months after reading a bunch of my mother's journals on werewolves. And frankly, so long as he's not trying to eat my liver, I have absolutely no problem with Lupin being a werewolf."

Ron, Hermione and Lupin all gaped at her as she turned to the DADA teacher. "Shall we deal with the traitor now? I suddenly have the urge to beat someone within an inch of their life."

"Just hold on a minute!" Hermione cried, light brown eyes going from Lupin to Aela and back. "How could you have possibly known that Pettigrew was an Animagus? And why didn't you tell anyone that Lupin was a werewolf?"

"Because werewolves are only dangerous on the full moon. And with the Wolf's Bane potion that Lupin has been taking, not even then. And don't you think that senile old coot would be aware that he was hiring a werewolf to begin with? At least this time, the DADA teacher was someone who actually know what they're doing, unlike Quirrell…or Lockhart." Aela added with a grin that had Hermione blushing at the memory of her insane crush on the fraud who had wiped his own memories came to the surface. "As for Pettigrew, if Black is an Animagus, then my father no doubt was one as well. And according to what we heard from McGonagall, Pettigrew followed Black and my Father around like a lost puppy, getting into the same trouble they would. If they were Animagi, then Peter was as well. And it makes sense if their best friend was a werewolf."

"Why?" Ron croaked from his spot on the bed as he attempted to stuff a squirming Scabbers/Pettigrew into his pocket.

"Because it's known that a werewolf with one or more Animagi with them on the full moon in their animal form can cause a Werewolf to be less dangerous than normal, as they are only a danger to humans." Aela said simply.

"And with Severus making my potion all year, I can curl up in my office until the full moon wanes, as safe as an overgrown lap dog…with very big teeth." Lupin added with a nod of approval toward his student.

"Snape?" Black said harshly, looking at the DADA teacher incredulously.

"He's here, Sirius." He's teaching here as well, Potions." Lupin looked to the three 3rd years. "Severus was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I'm not to be trusted. He has his reasons…you see, Sirius here played a trick on him that nearly killed him, one which involved me—"

"Served him right," Black sneered, causing Aela to shake her head with a sigh. "Sneaking around, trying to see what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…"

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin told the three of the student before him. "We were in the same year, and we – er – we didn't get along."

Aela snorted. "That's an understatement. When I talked to Flitwick about Mum, he said that James and the rest of you waged a small-scale prank war on each other throughout most of your school careers. Mum usually got caught in the middle thanks to a certain black-haired mutt." She shot toward Black, who whistled innocently and rubbed the back of his head.

Lupin shook his head in amusement at his old friend before continuing. "He saw me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow; which had been planted to keep people away from me during the Full Moon. Sirius thought it would be…eh… amusing to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to come and find me. Well, of course he tried it—if he'd made it as far as this house, he'd have found a fully grown werewolf who was still rather…cranky from the pain of transforming—but your father, James, heard was Sirius had done and went in after him, pulled him back at great risk to his own life. Severus saw me at the end of the tunnel though. Just a glimpse, but enough to know the truth about me. Dumbledore forbade him to tell anyone, but from that time, he knew me for what I was."

Aela suddenly had the overwhelming urge to beat her idiot of a Godfather over the head with a stick as she glared at the corpse-like man, who gulped under her emerald glare.

"So…the reason Snape looks like he wants to murder you every time you look at one another is because this ragged mutt played a trick that he thought you were a part of?"

"That's right," sneered a cold voice that had all of them spinning toward the wall behind Lupin.

Severus Snape was pulling off her Invisibility Cloak, wand aimed directly at Lupin.

* * *

Hermione screamed. Black jolted in place; surprise evident on his face. Aela cursed loudly in surprise, berating herself for not paying attention to any new scents coming up the stairs.

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," said Snape, throwing the cloak aside even as he kept his wand pointed at Lupin's chest. Though his eyes widened as the Cloak changed course and flew to its owner, the raven-haired girl in question folding it neatly and stuffing it into the right pocket of her leather jacket. "Very useful, Potter. I Thank you…"

Aela wasn't sure whether it was honest or not. So hard to tell with the Potions Master.

Snape was slightly breathless, eyes alight with suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he asked, eyes glittering as he glared at Lupin and Black, oblivious to the fact that Aela had her own wand subtly aimed at him in case he tried anything. "I've just been to your office, lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did…lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus—" Lupin began, but Snape cut him off.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle. And here's the proof. Not that I dreamed you would ever use this old place as your hideout after what happened all those years ago—"

"Severus, you have to listen to me," Lupin said urgently. Aela could tell it was futile. "You haven't heard everything—I can explain—Sirius is not here to kill Aela—"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," Snape said, eyes gleaming fanatically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this… He was quite convinced that you were harmless, you know, Lupin. A tame werewolf."

"Okay, I've had enough of this," Aela growled menacingly as she slid her wand back into the holster up her sleeve, moving in a blur toward Snape even as he turned his wand to her. Before he finished the motion, Aela's steel grip grabbed his arm and took him by the throat, lifting the man off the ground to throw him against the wall with terrible force, the house shuddering as his back collided with the wood. He heaved as he collapsed to the floor.

Aela stooped down and snatched his wand up as the man gasped for breath, the wind having been knocked out of him from the collision. With a twirl of the man's wand, she incanted, "_Incarcerous!_"

Black chains sprouted from the tip of his wand and swiftly wrapped him up before hoisting him into the air, the end of the chain wrapping around the support beam above him.

"_Silencio!_" she cried as the man opened his mouth to start yelling at her. She moved right up to the man and looked him in the eye, allowing her own to glow with fury, causing the man to falter as his onyx eyes locked onto her glowing emeralds. "Listen here, Snape. We are no longer on school grounds, so you have no authority here. You are so obsessed with revenge against Black and Lupin for something that happened nearly two decades ago, you would send two innocent men to the Hell known as Azkaban. Unlike the rest of you idiots, I figured out the truth while you all were too busy clinging to old assumptions and prejudices. So, you get to watch as I shatter your little fantasy, and be thankful I didn't beat the ever-loving crap out of you."

She turned away to see the whole room; cat and rat included; gaping at her. "What?"

"You…you attacked a teacher…" Hermione whimpered out. "We're in so much trouble…"

"Bloody brilliant, mate," Ron grinned as Snape glared at the red-head. "Kind of sad I didn't get to do that."

"It's time to prove me right. Ron, hand me Scabbers." She forgot one thing about Ron: he was fanatically protective of his useless pet.

The boy clutched the Rat to his chest.

"Come off it," he said weakly, his humor from Snape's treatment fading. "Are you trying to say that he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" he looked to Hermione for support, the girl in question simply shaking her head and raising her hands in surrender. "Okay, say you're right and Pettigrew could turn into a rat—there are millions of rats—how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

Lupin and Black looked to Aela. She raised her hands in surrender. "I've talked enough tonight. This one's all yours, Black. Though ten galleons says I know the reason." She added with a grin as she moved to lean against the bed next to Hermione.

Black smirked even as one of his claw-like hands reached inside his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat against the doorframe and held out to show the others.

Aela recognized it instantly, as she had used that paper herself to confirm her theory. It was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet for the previous summer, where they had gone to Egypt thanks to that thousand Galleon Ministry Lot…and an anonymous donation of ten thousand galleons to their account. (So she wanted to help her friend's family financially without fighting with Mrs. Weasley about it, big whoop.) and there on Ron's shoulder was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, looking thunderstruck.

"Fudge," replied Black with a grin. "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page. Right on Arthur's son's shoulder. I knew him at once...how many times had I seen him transform? The caption said he was going to Hogwarts…where Aela would be…"

The corpse-like man shot a look Aela's way. Despite having put the truth together, it was hard for Aela to shoot him a smile. Even if what happened was beyond his control, every instinct she had was telling her he had betrayed her, abandoned her when he went after Pettigrew. Left her to be left with those Magic hating Muggles for eleven years. To her, loyalty to your family was the most important thing in the world, for everyone else will betray you at one point or another. She managed a strained smile though.

"My God…" whispered Lupin softly, staring from Scabbers to the picture and back again. "His front paw…"

"What about it?" Ron demanded defiantly. Aela shook her head.

"Ron, if Black had killed Pettigrew with a Blasting Curse, they would've found his body parts all over. If it was an Implosion Curse, there wouldn't have been body parts, just blood everywhere from the explosion at the end. Disintegration Curses leave nothing but ashes. So, logically the finger was sliced off, and according to the reports I got access to, there was no Dark Magic on it, as a Death Eater would've used. And I don't doubt that Pettigrew did it himself." Aela said in a no-nonsense tone, one Hermione and Ron knew very well. After all, they were the closest thing she had to family.

Black nodded. "That's right. Cut it off right before he transformed. I had cornered him, so he started yelling for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, right before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself—and then sped down the sewer with the other rats…"

"Didn't you hear, Ron?" asked Lupin. "The biggest thing they could find of Peter was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages!" Ron's arguments were weakening. He could he the reasoning in their words. He was just too stubborn for his own good. Aela sighed.

_Love him like a brother… but by Artemis, he is stubborn as a bloody mountain!_ Aela groaned internally.

"Twelve years, in fact," Lupin said. "Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?

"We—we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron weakly.

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" said Lupin. "I'd be willing to bet that he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again."

"He's been scared to that Mad Cat!" Ron cried as he threw an arm toward Crookshanks, who was purring on the bed as though all was right in the world.

"No, he wasn't, Ron!" Hermione cut in. "He was looking bad when you first got to Diagon Alley, remember? Before I bought Crookshanks!"

Aela nodded. "She's right, Ron. You went to Magical Menagerie to get Rat Tonic for him remember? And that was when Crookshanks popped up."

Black moved over to Crookshanks and petted him with a bony hand. "And this cat isn't mad. He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he wasn't fooled for a moment. It was a long while before he trusted me… I finally managed to earn his trust and I managed to tell him what I was after and why. He's been helping me ever since."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, her face set in the look that said she was putting the pieces of the puzzle she had been missing together.

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me…"

"Which got Neville in trouble with McGonagall, you evil cat," Aela shot toward Crookshanks, who simply regarded her with yellow eyes. "And Crookshanks knew that you and Peter aren't real animals because he's half Kneazle, an XXX-class magical creature that have the uncanny ability to detect suspicious and distrustful people." She said to Black who blinked before looking back down to the cat in question. The cat just purred louder.

"However, Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. This cat—Crookshanks did you call him?—Told me Peter had left blood on the sheets… Faking his death worked once before, why not again?"

"And he ran to avoid you catching and killing him as revenge for betraying my parents." Aela said, drawing eyes back to her once more. "I can only assume that you persuaded my parents to switch to Peter last moment so you could act as bait, and as a result, Peter the Betrayer was able to give their location to Riddle."

Aela's voice was calm, but Hermione and Ron winced as they caught sight of her cold, empty eyes. They knew that look all too well. It said that their friend was enraged, but forcing her emotions down to keep from doing something stupid.

Black nodded. "I had arranged to check in on Peter the night your parents died. When I got there, he was nowhere to be found, yet there was no sign of a struggle. I had a bad feeling, so I went to your parent's house… but I was too late… they were already dead… your house destroyed… when I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…"

Black couldn't continue and sat down heavily on the only undamaged chair in the room, long hair hiding his features from view. Lupin stepped forward, face set in determination. "Enough of this. There's one way to be absolutely certain about what happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked tensely.

"For the love of… Ron, GIVE HIM THE DAMNABLE RAT!" Aela snapped, her anger boiling over for a moment. Ron flinched and handed Peter over to the werewolf, who was watching her with observant eyes. Aela looked away, eyes locking on the moon rising outside the window, the teen taking several deep breaths to rein her anger in.

"I know a spell that will force Peter to reveal himself. If he is truly a rat and not an Animagus, then it will be harmless to him." Lupin told Ron as Peter began squealing pathetically in Lupin's hands.

Aela had to bite back a growl at the traitor, instead opting to glare menacingly at the Animagus.

Black quickly stood and picked up Snape's wand from the table Aela had placed it on during her earlier words, ignoring Snape's glare and Silenced insults and demands. He approached Lupin and the struggling Animagus, his wet eyes suddenly burning in their sockets.

"Together?" he asked Lupin.

"I think so," Lupin responded, gripping Peter tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One—two—THREE!"

There was a flash of blue-white light that filled the room and for a moment, Peter was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly—Ron yelled—the rat fell to the floor. There was a second flash of light and then the Rat began to change. A head was shooting up from the ground; limps sprouting; and a moment later, a man was standing where the rat had been, crying pathetically and wringing his hands. Crookshanks hissed and snarled on the bed, the hair on his back standing straight up.

The man was short, an inch or two shorter than Hermione. His thin colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald spot on it. He had the shrunken appearance of a fat man who had lost a great deal of weight in a very short time. His skin was grubby and possessed a pointed nose and very small watery eyes, much like his Animagus form. he looked around the room, eyes darting from every person in the room to the door; which Aela had positioned herself in front of; and back.

Aela could hear the chains holding Snape stop straining as the Potions Master gaped at Pettigrew. Aela couldn't keep from shooting Snape a smug look that said 'I was right, you were wrong. Go pout, I win.'

Hermione screamed as Aela moved, bolting across the room in a blur of black as her powerful hand gripped Pettigrew by the throat and lifted him, pinning him against the wall as she allowed her Other Side to come out a bit, giving a predatory grin at the pathetic man, her canines sharpened in to fangs that only he could see.

"Hello, Traitor," she said as the man whimpered pathetically. "It's nice to finally meet the man responsible for my parents' deaths."

"It—it wasn't my fault…" he wheezed around the steel grip on his throat as his hands scrambled at Aela's.

"Oh, but it was, Pettigrew," Aela growled menacingly. "Voldemort may have fired the curses that took my parents from me, but he would never have found us had you not been a spineless coward and given away our location."

"You're very lucky. If I didn't need you alive to clear Black's name, I'd tear your throat out right here and now and leave your worthless corpse to rot here in this decrepit house." Aela pulled her Other Side back as she released the pathetic excuse for a person, her eyes dimming and fangs retracting as Pettigrew collapsed to the floor, coughing as he rubbed his throat. "Thank being said…"

No one in the room was ready for Aela's hand to latch onto the back of Pettigrew's neck, her eyes glowing with raw power as a massive pressure filled the room. Taking her ebony wand in hand, Aela pressed the tip to the base of Pettigrew's skull and chanted: "_Morrigan Mòr; Bhean de Fate agus Cogadh, Banrigh Mhòr Wolf; Ceangail seo Draoidheachd an neach-brathaidh!_"

They watched in disturbed fascination as a Celtic knot tattoo appeared around Pettigrew's throat, ending just over his Adam's apple in a snarling wolf as a pulse of magic burst from the pair, sending a shock through everyone's bones as Aela's eyes dimmed back to their normal emerald green as Pettigrew crumpled in a heap, his chest heaving as she took a step back.

"What…on Earth was that!?" Hermione demanded as she glared at her friend. She froze when she saw the look of primal satisfaction on Aela's face.

"It's a Celtic Curse. The Band of the Morrigan. A spell used by Celtic Mages to imprison their enemies in such a way that they could not escape using magic, seeing as their magic was bound so tightly that those affected by it are essentially Squibs. Only two are able to remove the Band: the Caster and the Morrigan herself." Aela said as she grinned maliciously down at Pettigrew. "Wouldn't want the Traitor running off the instant we get distracted, now would we?"

The occupants of the room looked horrified by the implications. Snape was the one who spoke; surprising everyone since they thought he was still under the effects of the Silencing spell.

"How on Earth do you know about such a spell, Potter?" he half-snarled.

Aela grinned as she looked to the Head of Slytherin. "Mum studied a fair few ancient magics after she left Hogwarts. She was particularly interested in Celtic and Nordic magic. There were quite a few journals on many different types of magic from those cultures. It makes for interesting reading after my Summer school work is done." Aela looked down at the whimpering Animagus at her feet. "I prefer to reserve those types of magic for those I truly consider the enemy, as they are very powerful and not to be used lightly."

Aela raised her hand and brushed her black hair aside to show her lightning bolt scar. "This is one such example. It didn't come from Voldemort's curse. It was the Rune used to anchor the protection spell Mum cast to protect me. She carved it into my flesh herself with a Celtic Athame Dagger. To seal the spell, she had to sacrifice herself. That way, when Voldemort tried to kill me, he brought down the wrath of the Morrigan upon him, which reflected the Killing Curse and destroyed his physical body."

Hermione got a look on her face that Aela knew all too well, and the raven-haired girl couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, Hermione. I will let you read some of the journals this summer. Provided that you come to my place over the Summer."

Hermione blush and nodded meekly as Ron shook his head in amusement.

"Moving on…" Lupin said as Pettigrew began pushing himself up off the floor weakly. "It's high time we cleared a few things up, Peter."

"C—cleared things up…?" the man whimpered from his knees, his eyes flicking back and forth across the room, taking in the boarded windows and again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

Lupin wasn't moved by his words. "You knew that Sirius would break out of the prison that no one else in the world has?"

Pettigrew sputtered at the different expressions from around the room. "He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew cried. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks."

"Or—and this is the more likely scenario—he got out in his Animagus form and swam to shore." Aela said off-handedly, earning a grin from Black. "It wouldn't be that hard. While a dog, Dementors would have a much harder time sensing him. Course, being rail thin no doubt helped a great deal."

Black looked to Pettigrew. "And Voldemort wouldn't teach his followers powerful magics even if this world was ending."

Peter flinched something horrible, as though Aela had bared her fangs at him once more.

"What? Scared to hear your old master's name?" Black jeered maliciously. "I don't blame you. His lot aren't exactly happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius…" Peter whimpered, his chest heaving quickly. His face was shining with sweat.

"You haven't been hiding from me these twelve years," said Black with a dark grin. "You've been hiding from the Death Eaters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter…they all think you're dead, or you'd answer to them. They all think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information, where he met his downfall at the hands of a one-year-old girl. And not all of Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban. Got off, they did. Bought their way out or claimed to be Imperiused. They've been biding their time, waiting for Him to return, pretending that they saw the error of their ways. If word ever got out that you were still alive, Peter—"

"Don't know… what you're talking about…," Pettigrew wheezed shrilly. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked to Lupin. "You don't believe this—this madness, Remus—"

"I must admit, I find it difficult to understand why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin.

"As much as it pains me to agree with the werewolf," Snape sneered as his onyx colored eyes locked on the traitor, "I am experiencing the same difficulty."

Aela grinned maliciously at the Rat, sending a shiver through his body.

"Innocent, but scared!" Peter squealed. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban—Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted into a snarl.

"How dare you," he growled, sounding very much like the bear-like dog he transformed into. If Aela had been anyone other than herself, she would've been afraid. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than I? But you, Peter—I can't believe I was so blind, why I didn't peg you as the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who looked after you. It used to be me, James, Remus and Lily."

Aela's Other Side growled deep within her heart, wishing to tear the traitor's head from his shoulders. Aela hushed her, calming the Beast's rage.

Pettigrew muttered under his heaving breath as more sweat poured down his face.

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it," Black growled in such a way that Pettigrew scuttled backwards. "I thought it was a perfect bluff—no one would ever expect a coward like you to hold such an important secret. Voldemort was sure to come after me, I was the perfect choice. A weak, talentless thing like you would never be chosen for something so important. It must have been the finest moment of your pathetic life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters on a silver platter."

Pettigrew's muttering increased in speed. Aela heard 'far-fetched', 'madness' and 'lunacy' with her sharp ears. The Traitor's eyes flicked back and forth between the windows and the door; which Aela was still standing in front of with a predatory gleam in her emerald eyes.

"Over all, this conversation is a bit pointless," Aela said, drawing all eyes to her. "A dose of Veritaserum or using the Potter Pensieve will get us the information needed for a conviction. Until then, best just to drag his worthless hide back to the Castle. Fudge is staying until morning. We drag Pettigrew in, throw him down in front of the Minister. As Heiress to House Potter, I can request he be questioned extensively. A few hours being questioned, Black is cleared of all charges and Pettigrew gets tossed into Azkaban, the Band of the Morrigan keeping him from escaping via Animagus form."

Black gained an odd look in his eyes: a bit like a fusion of pride and sick satisfaction.

Peter saw the look on Black's and Aela's faces. "NO!"

He fell back to his knees, hands clasped before him as he begged Black. "Sirius—it's me…it's Peter…your friend…you wouldn't…"

Black kicked the pathetic man away from him. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," he snarled.

Pettigrew immediately turned to Lupin. "Remus! You don't believe this…wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd change the plan?"

Lupin's grey eyes were blank as he stared down at his former friend. "Not if he thought I was the spy," Lupin turned to Black. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, old friend?"

"Forgive me, Remus," said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, my old friend," said Lupin as he pulled his leg away from Pettigrew. "Will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course, Moony," said Black with a ghost of a smile.

Peter bolted from Remus' feet and moved toward Ron. "Ron…haven't I been a good friend… a good pet? You won't let them lock me away, Ron, will you…you're on my side, aren't you?"

Aela snorted at the disgusted look on Ron's face as he gaped at the Traitor with the utmost revulsion. "I let you sleep in my _bed_!"

"Kind boy…kind master…" Pettigrew crawled a bit closer to Ron, who moved his broken leg away from the disgusting man. "you won't let them do it… I was your rat… I was a good pet…"

"If you made a better rat than a person, that's not much to boast about, Peter" Black growled harshly. Ron scooted away from Pettigrew, causing Crookshanks to hop into the lanky red-head's lap as Ron disturbed his spot.

Peter turned on his knees, staggered forward and seized the hem of Hermione's robes. He didn't get to open his mouth however as a steel grip latched onto the back of his neck once more, yanking him off the ground to hoist him into the air as Aela growled menacingly, "You go anywhere _near_ her again, and I'll conveniently forget that I need you alive to free my Godfather, filth."

The teen threw Pettigrew to the ground, the man yelping in pain as he hit the floor hard. He yelped once more as black chains wrapped around him, pulling tight enough to cause a good deal of discomfort, a gag appearing over his mouth to keep him from speaking or screaming.

Snape yelped slightly as the chains binding him exploded into smoke, the man barely catching his wand as Aela tossed it back to him. "I told you I was right, Snape."

The man didn't respond, and instead opted to levitate the Rat Animagus as he moved out of the room, his black robes billowing behind him, giving him the appearance of an overgrown bat.

Aela turned to Black and Lupin. "I've got to ask…did he do that when you were in school? The whole 'billowy cloak' thing?"

Black snorted in amusement. "Oh, yes. We'd use to spot him loosening his school robes just enough so when he walked, they billowed behind him almost exactly like that."

Aela snorted as she moved over to Ron and helped her friend to his feet, Crookshanks hopping to the ground with a grumble as he made for the door. Hermione took Ron's arm and helped him out of the room.

Aela turned to Black and Lupin. "So…who wants to clear Black's name?"

* * *

Aela had live a rather insane life in her short time on Earth, but this group she was currently a part of could be considered rather odd. Crookshanks led the way, Snape was levitating Pettigrew before him, Lupin was next, Hermione and Ron were just behind him, and Aela and Sirius were in the back.

You know what this means?" Black asked as they walked along the tunnel. "Turning Peter in?"

"You'll be free," Aela responded. "That was the plan, after all. However, knowing my luck, we'll run into complications very soon, so best not to celebrate just yet."

"I know…and I heard what you said about you having a place to stay…but if you want…"

Aela raised a brow at him. "A good thought. However, I know exactly what happens to those who spend too long around Dementors. So, before anything like that can happen, you will be going to St. Mungo's to get treated by a Mind Healer for Extended Dementor Exposure. That is not up for debate."

Black blinked at the steel in her tone. And then he laughed, his face becoming something that was instantly recognizable as the man who had laughed at her parents' wedding. "You sound exactly like Lily!" he laughed, shaking his head in amusement. Aela allowed herself a small smile.

Black fell silent for a short time before speaking again. "Earlier…you knew how long I watched you in the Common Room…how?"

Aela turned her emerald eyes to Black, before grinning and tapping the side of her nose. "The nose knows. I've always had a strong sense of smell, and over the years I trained myself to be able to track people by scent. Your scent lingered by the back of the sofa long enough to tell me that you stood there for a fair bit of time before you moved on. It didn't help that you smell like a sewer."

Black blinked before he lifted his arm and took a sniff. He immediately gagged and slapped his hand over his mouth. Aela grinned widely. "You've been on the run for nearly a year. At no point did you think to stop and get a bath, a haircut and some new clothes? Seriously?"

"I was busy!" Black argued.

"So am I every year with all the crap that happens at Hogwarts. You don't see me letting myself look like I just spent twelve years in an island prison where I'm not allowed a bath." Aela retorted with a raised brow and a mischievous grin.

Black snorted in amusement. "Touché."

They moved in a semi-comfortable silence for the remained for the trip through the tunnel. Aela kept a close eye on Hermione and Ron. Hermione herself seemed to be tired only, while Ron was suffering from moderate to major blood-loss. They'd need to head to the Hospital Wing before anything else. Black would need to clean up a bit. No doubt Snape would try and get her suspended at the very least for Aela throwing him against the wall of the Shrieking Shack. Considering they had been off school grounds at the time and Dumbledore needed her loyalty for whatever crazy plans he had, she was sure he wouldn't do anything.

Eventually, she allowed her mind to drift to what Black had said earlier. What would it be like to live with someone who actually cared about her? She didn't know. The Dursleys were horrid people who had treated her like a slave until she had moved out, Blood Wards be damned. (Sorry mum.) Her current place of residence had a several House Elves; Dobby included; on the property, but she wasn't counting them.

Honestly, she didn't know what to expect. Once Black was cleared and Pettigrew sent to Azkaban, Aela had a few things to deal with that were best left private, lest Dumbledore find out about her plans before everything was in position.

They exited the tunnel and began tramping across the grounds, the Whomping Willow frozen from Crookshanks' paw.

Then, true to form, the worst happened. The moon came out from behind the clouds, bathing the odd party in silvery light.

Lupin froze, his body going rigid. Aela cursed as she remembered what Snape had said about Lupin forgetting to take his potion tonight. The Wolf was coming. And he was gonna be pissed off.

Aela didn't wait and pulled Hermione and Ron back, ignoring her friend's yelp of pain as she pushed her friends behind her, emerald eyes locked on the DADA Professor's shaking form.

"Professor Snape!" she called, catching the Potion Master's attention. "Get Pettigrew to the Castle, NOW!"

She didn't hear his response as she heard the disgusting noise of bones cracking and muscle tearing. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulder's hunched. Hair was sprouting from his face and hands, which were curling into paws.

Aela turned her eyes to her friend and her godfather. They all gaped at her, and she could only assume her eyes were glowing with emerald light.

"Don't hate me too much?" she half begged before she turned away, resigned to their fear and potential hatred.

She pulled off her jacket and tossed it aside, leaving her in her black tank-top as she began unbuckling her wand holster and belt as well just as she felt It. The Beast within her clawing, roaring for freedom. She knew her Pack was in danger from the Rogue Werewolf. An Alpha's duty was to protect the pack. And that is what she intended to do.

With a roar, she Changed, bones and muscles breaking, tearing thickening even as midnight black fur began to sprout from her skin, her teeth sharpening to razor fangs even as her fingernails became massive claws. Her body swelled, growing to accommodate larger, stronger bones and muscles in much different shape than before, cloths ripping and tearing as her body doubled in size. Her skull cracked and stretched to accommodate her wolfish form, massive fangs bared in the pain of Transforming.

Her ears lengthened, twitching backwards as Hermione screamed in terror and Ron whimpered in fear, something akin to 'good doggie' slipping from his mouth. It took a few moments quicker than Lupin's transformation, and once it was done, the black Werewolf stood tall in her shredded jeans and the remains of her tank-top, the clothing shredded from her rapid increase in size. A wolfish grin stretched across her face as she threw her black-maned head back and Howled.

_**AAAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_ The wolf howled, causing her friends to back up swiftly as she turned her burning emerald gaze to the much smaller, much thinner wolf that had the stench of madness upon him. Her lips pulled back in a growl, her fangs bared in challenge to the interloper who would dare threaten her Pack. The smaller Wolf whined pathetically before growling. The Black Wolf grinned as she drew herself to her full seven-foot-tall height, ready for a fight.

* * *

_**This was meant to be out on Halloween, but i passed out before i could update it.**_

_**Why make Potter a werewolf, some of you may ask...because why the eff not? I rarely see any FanFics with Harry as a werewolf, so i figured i'd write one myself.**_

_**Morrigan Mòr; Lady of Fate and War, Banrigh Mhòr Wolf; Ceangail seo Draoidheachd an neach-brathaidh!\- Great Morrigan; Lady of Fate and War, Great Wolf Queen; Bind this Traitor's magic!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Hermione Granger**_

Hermione could not believe her eyes. Aela was a werewolf…a very large werewolf. Suddenly, everything that her friend had done over the past three years made perfect sense. Her enhanced senses, her strength and speed, her ferocity. All of it added up. How she; the Brightest Witch of her Generation; had missed something so monumental about her best friend, she couldn't understand.

Everything about Aela Potter had seemed supernatural from the start. From her glowing emerald eyes to her perfect ivory skin. The way her messy hair always seemed to be perfect even though it was untamable.

When all hell had broken loose with the Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets incidents, Aela had been the one to save as many people as possible. It had been Aela; not McGonagall, not Snape, and certainly not Dumbledore; who had fought and killed a Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor, slew a dozen Death Eaters in training, destroyed Riddle's diary and saved Ginny Weasley's mind from a Dark Ritual that would've turned a bright, powerful young witch into a slave to a reborn Dark Lord. All in one Night.

Aela had always been truthful to her friends. If there was something on her mind, she said it. No bending the truth, no lying to their faces. The Truth. Hermione could only assume that was why she never guessed Aela had a secret so huge.

Hermione watched as the black werewolf that had been her best friend pulled herself to her full height, standing head and shoulders above Ron, who was the tallest of the three humans. The gangly boy in question was simultaneously whimpering while holding onto Black, keeping the man from rushing to his goddaughter's aid.

Hermione's sharp mind quickly noted the many differences between the two wolves as they growled at one another. The werewolf that had once been Professor Lupin looked…sick. He was rail-thin, his body naught but skin and bone. His gray fur was thin and patchy, as though he had mange. The werewolf was not much taller than his human form had been. Even if he wasn't hunched over, Hermione doubted he would've been taller than six feet. His claws were ragged and chipped, as though he bit them a great deal. His yellow-green eyes were filled with a madness that sent a shiver down the bookworm's spine.

The black Werewolf that had been Aela Potter looked far healthier. Her fur was thick and smooth, the midnight pelt shining in the silvery Moonlight, a thick mane blooming from between her shoulder blades and ending just between her ears and under her powerful jaws. Thick, powerful muscle rippled beneath her hide, alerting Hermione that she was much stronger than the rabid wolf before her. The Black Wolf stood seven-feet-tall, not hunched over in the slightest and much taller than her human form, the remains of her shirt and pants hanging in tatters around her body. Her claws were long, black and razor sharp, the claws of an accomplished hunter. Hermione couldn't see her eyes as the Wolf's back was to them, but from the way the beast was crouched with her arms spread in a protective stance, Hermione was certain that her emerald eyes were far more focused and sane that the rabid wolf before them.

Hermione yelped as both wolves exploded into motion, the Black before her moving far faster than the Gray across from them. The wolves collided with a loud thud as flesh and bone connected, the different wolves snapping and snarling at one another as they rolled over the grass, fur and blood flying. Gray howled in pain as Black locked her jaws onto his shoulder, pulling her left hand back to sucker punch Gray in the throat. Gray gagged as he was lifted off the ground and flung a meter or so away from Black through sheer strength. They charged again, Black snarling as Gray bit her left forearm, his jagged teeth tearing flesh. Black slashed again and again with her right arm, gouging deep cuts into Gray's side, shoulder and face.

Finally, a blow to the side of the head had Gray yelping in pain as a blow to the head knocked him free of Black's arm, the much larger wolf sending him flying with a back-handed strike, her now free left arm following up to slash him across the chest, blood spurting from the wound as he hit the ground hard.

The gray pushed himself up, blood pouring from the numerous slashes and bite wounds across his body. His yellow-green eyes were locked on the humans, but the Black placed herself between them and him, a deep rumble emanating from her chest as she bared her fangs at him, the sound shaking Hermione's bones. The Gray's eyes flicked to the ground as he whimpered pathetically, before quickly turning tail and running to the Forbidden Forest as fast as his gangly legs could carry him, swiftly vanishing into the shadows of the ancient trees.

The Black turned to them, emerald eyes glowing in the night as they locked onto Hermione. The bushy-haired Gryffindor froze as the massive predator looked her way, every muscle she had quivering in fear as the Werewolf started her way, taking long, yet slow steps until she stood before the bookworm, towering over the terrified teen. Hermione could vaguely hear Ron whimpering behind her, but her full attention was focused on the Black Werewolf before her. Her cinnamon eyes locked on the snarling wolf pendant that still hung around the wolf's neck, nearly hidden in the thick fur and shredded fabric, the chain pulled tight from the change in the wearer's size. From there, her eyes traced the wounds along the predator's body. Blood leaked from the gashes on her sides and shoulders, the bite wound on her left forearm oozing thick blood, which hissed as the hot ichor hit the cool grass beneath them. Hermione's eyes widened slightly as she watched the wounds begin to knit themselves shut at incredible speed, swiftly leaving nothing but slightly ruffled fur in their wake as they sealed shut.

Hermione looked up into the Wolf's eyes and was surprised that there was no hunger, nor malice of any kind in those emerald orbs. Instead, there was affection, relief and something else that she couldn't quite place. The Wolf's hot breath brushed against her face as the predator's chest heaved from the short, but intense fight. Then, the unbelievable happened.

The Black Wolf lowered herself down to Hermione's height, emerald eyes level with light brown. Hermione's muscles loosened and her heart slowed as she suddenly felt…safe. Safe with a massive werewolf right in front of her. Something that was unheard of, but was apparently happening.

Hermione's hand slowly rose on its own accord, its owner not trying to stop herself in the slightest as she raised her hand to be level with the Werewolf's face.

"Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea…" Ron whimpered behind her. As per usual, Hermione ignored him.

The Wolf's emerald eyes regarded her hand for only a moment before her eyes closed and she pressed her large head against Hermione's hand. A breath Hermione didn't know she had been holding released as her hand pressed against the smooth, silky fur of the Werewolf's head. The Werewolf's mane was thick and soft, much smoother than Hermione had been expecting. A rumbling purr shook the Werewolf's bones and Hermione couldn't stop the choked laugh that came from her throat.

"Aela…?" The Wolf's eyes opened, glowing emeralds regarding the escaped convict with a soft gaze as Black moved to Hermione's side. The Wolf's eyes were soft and filled with what appeared to be regret as they flicked between Black, Hermione and Ron as the lanky red-head limped to Hermione's right side. The trio of humans stared at the Wolf as she remained crouched before them, no sign of aggression or hunger on her countenance.

"_**SAGITTA ARGENTUM!**_" a trio of voices cried from the direction of the castle. A moment later, a trio of arrows forged of silver light flew through the air and buried themselves in the Wolf's side.

The reaction was instant. Aela yelped in pain and leapt back as another pair of silver arrows passed through where she had been kneeling just a moment before, her snout twisted in a snarl as the flesh around the arrows hissed and smoked. The Black Werewolf snarled in pain as her clawed hand reached down and quickly yanked the silver arrows out of her side, growling as her green eyes snapped toward the casters as the silver shafts burned her hand for a moment longer before they shimmered out of existence.

Fudge, Macnair and Dumbledore were standing several dozen meters away, their wands raised as they prepared to cast the Silver Arrow spell once more. Fudge looked like he was about to faint from fear, Macnair had a look of sick satisfaction at Aela's pain, and Dumbledore looked both confused and furious. Past them, Hermione could see the silhouettes of McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, Snape, Hagrid and Flitwick making their way across the lawn at speed, the light of the Great Hall shining behind them.

Aela's lips pulled back in a snarl as she pulled herself to her full height and took a deep breath, green eyes filled with pain and fury as she glared at the three who had wounded her.

_**RRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR!**_ Aela unleashed a thundering bellow from her powerful lungs as her arms spread wide, black claws extended and glowing emerald eyes filled with the promise of pain as she prepared to charge.

"STOP!" Hermione cried, jumping in front of Aela with her arms opened wide, causing the Black werewolf to stop herself from charging before she ran over her friend. Ron and Black joined her, blocking the three adults from firing the spell again.

"Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Black, please move away from the werewolf." Dumbledore said in that grandfatherly tone. Once, it had made Hermione feel safe. Now it made her furious.

"No way, Headmaster," Hermione said, not moving and inch as the old man's eyes widened in surprise. Understandable. She had never told a teacher 'no' before, much less the Headmaster. "We won't let you hurt Aela again."

The Minister let loose a shaky laugh as his wand hand shook. "Don't be foolish, young lady. That cannot be Heiress Potter. The Ministry would have been made aware if she had been bitten."

Ron spoke up, his body shaking from loss of blood. "Not bloody likely. Half the time, you can't even find your own pants. How would you know anything about Aela if no one even knew she was alive until she got her Hogwarts letter? If nobody ever went to check up on her when she was living with her Aunt and Uncle?"

"Did someone say somethin' about hurtin' Aela?" Hagrid asked in his gravelly voice as he reached Dumbledore's side with the other members of the faculty, beady black eyes roaming those with wands raised. Hermione loved the big man. He treated Aela much like a niece, and hence was very protective, despite Aela obviously being able to take care of herself.

"This is Aela, Hagrid." Hermione said, motioning to her wounded friend, whose injuries were still smoking from the arrows. "Look at her neck! Aela's necklace is right there!"

McGonagall wasted no time. "Lumos!" she cried, the tip of her wand lighting up in a focused beam. The old woman gasped as the light fell on the snarling wolf pendant, the emerald gems shimmering in the light against the Wolf's midnight black pelt. The elderly woman quickly moved the light up to the Wolf's eyes, catching a glimpse of emerald orbs before a black furred arm blocked the light.

"Albus…" McGonagall breathed. "It is her. It's Ms. Potter, she never takes that necklace off."

Dumbledore looked gob smacked as he beheld the black Werewolf before them, his wand arm lowering as he stared into her fierce green eyes as she stared back.

"How…how is this possible?"

Everyone jumped when a crack filled the air as the Wolf snarled and began to shrink, fur receding as she began to Change back to her human form. Hermione gaped at her friend. To have enough control on the Full Moon to not only keep from harming her friends, but to change back and forth at will was supposed to be impossible. And yet once again, Aela Potter did the impossible with little to no effort.

They watched as claws became nails, fangs became teeth, Wolf become Human, and within a few moments, Aela stood before them, hunched over in pain as her left arm wrapped around her torso, hand covering the puncture marks where the silver arrows had embedded themselves, blood oozing from the injuries even as they smoked ever so slightly. Her clothes were shredded, her shirt barely preserving her modesty, but giving them a good view of the lean and powerful muscle of her abdomen and arms. Her pants were also torn, her pale legs on full display.

"Bloody Hell…" Aela hissed through clenched teeth. "Now I remember: Wait an hour at the least before Changing back; that way you don't feel like you got trampled by a herd of very angry, drunk elephants wearing cleats."

Her eyes; still as vibrant as before; were filled with fury and indignation as they snapped to the Headmaster, Minister and Executioner.

"At what point does non-hostile werewolf equal shoot first, ask questions never?" she snarled, her voice hoarse. "If you had two brain cells to rub together between the three of you, you'd have realized that at no point was I acting aggressive toward them."

Aela stood straight, eyes flashing as she winced from the pain. "And since you used Silver Arrows rather than a rock or something, I'm going to have to suffer the burning for the next few days rather than healing in a minute or two. So, thanks for that, you colossal idiots."

"Ms. Potter!" McGonagall admonished.

Aela turned her glowing emerald eyes to the Transfiguration teacher. "With respect Professor, stay out of it. Had it been you who had exited first, I don't doubt that I wouldn't have any silver burns on my sides. Because unlike these three idiots, you actually think before you act."

She turned back to Dumbledore, her eyes burning with a fury that made Hermione want to hide.

"As for your question, _Headmaster,_" Aela spat, the title sounding like an insult on her lips. "Its pretty fucking simple to hide something from someone who's never around. Eleven years, and not a peep from you. No sign that there was ever anyone who gave two fucks about me. No, you were too busy using the Potter vote in the Wizengamot to further your political career without my authorization, and using my family's money to do Morrigan-knows-what. And once I arrived at Hogwarts, you only spoke to me after I did your bloody job. And then, never to ask if I was alright, or to make sure my mental and emotional state was stable. No, you only ever berated me for doing what I had to in order to survive. Not to mention that you're almost never at the school, since you have four full time jobs that has you running all over the country."

Something Hermione didn't like flashed over Dumbledore's face; a look of fury and indignation accompanied by hatred. But then it was gone, replaced with an expression of subdued guilt. Hermione didn't believe it was genuine.

Aela turned her eyes to her friends and godfather. "And I'll explain everything in the morning. But for right now, we've got to get inside and get Ron to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey might have something for these Silver Burns as well."

Hermione helped her friend, taking Ron's left arm while Aela took his right. They moved forward, Black taking up a position next to Aela, the girl's jacket, boots, belt and wand holster in his hands. Hagrid; bless the big man; moved behind them, shooting a glare at McNair and Fudge that had both men shrinking back at the sight of the angry man who towered above them.

They didn't get far.

They had just reached the courtyard and were about forty feet from the front doors when a deep chill swept through Hermione's body, the temperature quickly dropping to the low twenties, causing frost to spread across the stone and fog to erupt from her lips. Any sense of happiness or joy in her body drained from her, leaving her feeling as though she had lost everything she had ever cared about.

Mum, Dad, Ron, the Weasley Twins, Hogwarts… Aela.

Different images flashed through her mind at breakneck speeds until it settled on an image of a broken and bloody Aela Potter. The image before her looked as though she had been mauled by a pack of bears. Her right arm was gone, torn from its socket with terrible force, the torrent of blood soaking the stone floor beneath her. Her left hand; beaten and broken it was; was pressed to her stomach, which had been eviscerated to the point that her internal organs were attempting to leave her body. Her face was covered in gashes and bruises, her left eye a ruin of organic material, her right empty and glassy as the girl stared at nothing as her corpse slumped against a pillar, head tilted to the side at an unnatural angle.

Hermione curled in upon herself, arms wrapped around her head as she tried to block out the image, whimpers falling from her lips as tears flowed from her eyes.

"Not her…please, not her…"

She couldn't breathe, her brain was shutting down, blood pounding in her ears. Something familiar made it past the pounding in her head. A voice, one she knew…

"_**EXPECTO PATRONUM!**_" the voice cried with enough force to shake the ground beneath Hermione's body.

Warmth bloomed in her heart, and the horrible images before her shattered, the icy chill that had permeated her body falling away as her vision cleared. She blinked blearily as her eyes caught sight of a brilliant silver light to her right, her brown eyes drawn to the disturbance.

There stood a young woman with wild black hair whipping around her skull as the wind howled. Her clothes were in tatters, revealing a body etched with powerful muscles that shimmered with sweat, her elegant, angular face twisted into a snarl as emerald green eyes were locked on something before her.

Something about her was so familiar…but Hermione's terror addled brain failed to make the connection.

Her right side was drenched in blood, the scarlet fluid leaking from a trio of small wounds that were scorched as though the weapons had been super-heated. The woman's legs were bent as though to support her weight better, her right arm raised and her hand clasped around a jet-black rod.

The rod itself was unleashing a stream of white light that coalesced into… a wolf? If that is what it was, then it was larger than any wolf Hermione had ever read about. Standing the size of a horse, the silvery wolf looked to be lined with powerful muscle, covered in a thick coat and possessed very large canine teeth that protruded from its snarling maw. The silver wolf was crouched, head reared back as it howled, body pulsing with power as it unleashed shockwave after shockwave of Light.

Past the silver beast, Hermione's eyes widened as they beheld the massive swarm of black cloaked…things that were slowly being pushed back as the light collided with their bodies.

_Dementors…_

Hermione's brain started kicking back in as her eyes were drawn back to spot Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Professor Snape, the Minister of Magic and the Executioner as they watched with wide eyes as the thirteen-year-old witch that was named Aela Tala Potter pushed back the tide of Dark Creatures with the immensely powerful Patronus Charm.

_'The Patronus Charm is charged by a singular happy memory and an indomitable will,'_ Hermione remembered Aela telling her that after her first lesson with Professor Lupin. Her eyes narrowed as she pushed herself to her feet and pulled her own wand out of her back pocket, the vine-like design giving her a firm grip as she raised the vine-wood rod. She thought back to a singular happy moment in her life. It wasn't hard to find.

The moment she sat down across from Aela on the train, when the green-eyed girl had introduced herself with a nervous smile and a firm handshake, no trace of annoyance or arrogance as the bushy-haired bookworm had suspected she might've had from the countless books that were written about her. That moment had made her feel so warm inside, so insanely happy that she had simply talked with the raven-haired young lady far easier than anyone else in her life, including her parents; not once talking about school or trying to prove herself.

Her lips turned up into a smile as that warmth filled her chest once more, and she shouted, "_**EXPECTO PATRONUM!**_"

Instantly, a silver animal sprung from her want, twirling through the air with playful movements as it floated over to swim around the silver wolf that Aela had created. It was an Otter. Hermione's smile widened as the playful mammal landed on the wolf's head and began to emitted its own shockwaves; smaller than the wolf's but just as effective against the Dementors.

Within moments, a large silver bird soared overhead, music singing from its beak as it hovered above her Otter and Aela's wolf, quickly joined by a silver Doe, a silver house cat and a large dog, each taking a position next to the massive Wolf to push back the Dark Horde. Hermione dared not look away from her Patronus, pouring as much power as she could into the spell.

Hermione was by no means weak. She had often been told that she was an extremely skilled and powerful young witch. But seeing the amount of power Aela was unleashing whilst injured and exhausted was absolutely astonishing. Hermione had always known that Aela was far stronger than her. That had been a given from the first moment they had been working on practical spells together; the raven-haired witch giving off a sort of pressure when she wasn't casting, almost like her power was straining to be unleashed. However, Hermione had never realized exactly how strong her best friend was until tonight.

The Bookworm wasn't sure how long she held the spell for. It could have been a few seconds, or it could have been a few hours, but soon the Dementors all fell back, soaring into the sky with rattling breaths as her Patronus finally failed her, the silver otter blinking out of existence as she slumped over, chest heaving as she gasped for breath. Hermione's eyes looked back behind her to see Ron; pale as a ghost; shaking like a leaf as he stared at where the horde of Dementors had been a moment before; Black with Professor Lupin's wand in his skeletal hand as he shakily moved toward his Goddaughter, who was swaying on the spot as blood poured from the puncture wounds on her side, ebony wand held loosely in her grasp.

Aela tipped forward, nearly hitting the ground in a dead faint before Black and Professor McGonagall caught her, Hagrid moving to the pair to easily pick up the raven-haired werewolf in his arms, the girl looking tiny against his massive frame before he took off toward the Castle, massive stride carrying him far before he disappeared through the massive doors.

"Aela…" Hermione croaked before coughing harshly, her throat sore from the extreme cold that followed the Dementor horde. A hand patted her on the back lightly, drawing her cinnamon eyes to Professor McGonagall.

"Fifty points to Gryffindor, Ms. Granger," the elderly teacher breathed as she helped the young witch to her feet by her arm. "Never have I ever seen a corporeal Patronus cast on the first try under duress. Extraordinary. Truly extraordinary."

Hermione gave a tired smile as she began making her way toward the Castle, intent on heading to the Hospital Wing to check on Aela.

A thin hand gently grabbed her shoulder as Sirius Black made his way to her side, supporting her weight as he helped her on their way; McGonagall following close behind with Ron on a conjured stretcher.

The odd group of seven walked in silence for the duration of their journey to the Hospital Wing, the only noise at all coming from their feet hitting the stone floor and Ron's moan's of pain and fear as his leg was disturbed upon the gurney, his mind assaulted by his worst fears thanks to the Dementors residual effects. When they entered the Hospital Wing, Hermione could see Madam Pomfrey rushing back and forth between an open potion cabinet and a occupied hospital bed as Hagrid seemed to be holding down Aela, who Hermione could see was gritting her teeth in pain as she struggled to shy away from whatever the Matron was doing to treat her Silver Burns.

Hermione forced her tired body to move faster, Sirius right behind her as they rushed to Aela's side. The girl in question was drenched in sweat, her eyes screwed shut in pain, her skin nearly bone white and her teeth were bared, sharpened into fangs as her face twisted into a pained snarl. Her side had been washed clean of blood, which made the wounds much easier to see. However, what brought Hermione up short was the collection of scars that crisscrossed across Aela's body that had most certainly NOT been there not a few minutes before. The lash marks covered about forty percent of the young girl's body, crisscrossing over her legs, torso and arms, and no doubt wrapping around her back in a web of injuries that looked very painful.

"Whichever one of you damned fools decided to use the Silver Arrow spell on a young werewolf, you should be ashamed of yourselves." Pomfrey snapped as she rubbed a mustard-yellow paste over the puncture wounds, the injuries smoking thickly as every muscle in Aela's body tensed, the girl arching off the bed as she struggled against Hagrid's powerful grip, her jaw clenched as she whimpered in pain.

"You knew she was a werewolf, Poppy?" Professor McGonagall questioned as she placed Ron on a separate bed. Her grass-green eyes were wide with surprise and slight indignation as she beheld the Head Matron.

Madam Pomfrey scoffed as she began to wrap bandages around Aela's torso, the girl's emerald eyes half open and bleary with pain. "Of course I knew. How many times has this girl been in here over the past three years? I noticed when she was in here at the end of her First Year. She asked me not to tell anyone after proving to me that she was in control of herself."

"How did she do that?" Hermione croaked as Sirius lowered her onto the bed directly to Aela's left.

Madam Pomfrey snorted. "She Changed right in the middle of the Hospital Wing; on a New Moon no less; smirked at me, waved and proceeded to help me clean up as a large black werewolf for an hour before she Changed back. Most impressive; even for a Born Werewolf; to be in complete control at age eleven."

Hermione smirked in amusement as Professor Dumbledore moved forward. "And why was I not informed of this, Poppy?"

Madam Pomfrey rose to her full height as she finished tying off the bandages and pinned the Headmaster with a dark glare that had the man gulping in barely suppressed fear. "Inform the man that left this poor girl with those horrible people for a decade and didn't bother to check on her that whole time? The man who berated Ms. Potter for fighting and killing Quirrell in defense of her friends and that blasted Stone, rather than asking after her health? Who berated her for fighting and killing a dozen of Death Eaters in training within the walls of this very school whilst trying to save Ms. Weasley from Corruption before killing the Basilisk you refused to deal with? I think not!" the woman snapped as she moved around the bed, coming to a stop right in front of the Headmaster. "You may be head of this school, Albus, but I am Matron of this Hospital Wing. When I say I'll keep a patient's secrets from people who have no right to know, I keep their secrets."

"Where did those scars come from?"

All eyes turned to Sirius, who was staring at the marks that spread across his goddaughter's body. The look in his eye was a mixture of rage and pain, his shaking skeletal hands clenched in his lap.

Madam Pomfrey took in his skeletal form for a moment before reaching into the Potion Cabinet and pulling out a silver vial. She moved over to the escaped convict and forced the bottle into his hands. "Drink it all in one go. Don't smell it, don't taste it. Just down it fast, Mr. Black."

Sirius blinked at the older woman before complying, his face twisting into a disgusted grimace as the potion hit the back of his throat, the man gagging in disgust from the horrid potion. With a satisfied nod, Pomfrey pinned Dumbledore with a harsh glare. "Belt marks from her Aunt and Uncle, with a few knife wounds from her cousin. All received between the ages three to ten. Those are the people you thought she'd be safe with, Albus."

Hermione hand covered her mouth as she felt fresh tears spring to her eyes as Madam Pomfrey listed off the sources of Aela's scars. Sirius looked as though he had just had a heart attack. The Minister of Magic was wide-eyed and pale. Hagrid's face; most commonly graced with a warm smile and a twinkle in his black eyes; was twisted into an enraged glare, one that promised pain and death to those who had hurt the girl who was like family to him. Even Professor Snape; who always seemed to hate Aela with every fiber of his being; looked both horrified and disgusted at the young girl's treatment.

Dumbledore looked absolutely horrified at the mistreatment that the Girl-Who-Lived had gone through.

_SMACK!_

Hermione jumped in her seat as Professor McGonagall spun on the spot and slapped Professor Dumbledore right across the face; face twisted in fury as she began screaming in what Hermione could only assume was Scots Gaelic.

"_**Bha ag innse dhut Albus! Thuirt mi riut gur e na daoine sin an seòrsa Muggle a bu mhiosa, ach cha do dh'èist thu rium! Agus seall air na thachair dhi! Mhallaich thu, am fuilteach gobhar fuilteach, amadan le clach!**_" the woman screamed in the Headmaster's face as the old man reeled back quickly, putting a fair bit of distance between himself and the Transfiguration Teacher as Dumbledore pressed a hand to his reddened cheek.

The Head of Gryffindor House opened her mouth to continue screaming at the old man, but no sound exited her mouth. Professor McGonagall blink as she looked around for the culprit who had Silenced her.

Madam Pomfrey was calmly putting her wand away. "I have no problem with you tearing into Albus, Minerva," Madam Pomfrey said as she moved around to Ron's bed. "I only ask that you take your yelling match out of the Hospital Wing so that Ms. Potter can rest. Silver Burns, along with forcing a Transformation back into human form on a Full Moon before a full Hour had passed, followed by using a N.E.W.T Level spell against an absolutely massive horde of Dementors," the Matron shot a heated glare at the Minister, who shifted uncomfortably on the spot, "Means she needs plenty of rest in order to heal properly. You screaming at such volume will only deter the healing process."

Professor McGonagall's mouth snapped shut and a horrified expression spread across her visage as she slumped down into an empty bed. Evidently, Madam Pomfrey had lifted the spell, for McGonagall croaked out. "Of course, Poppy. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking…"

Madam Pomfrey nodded in understanding, a soft look in her normally stern eyes as she began looking over Ron's leg. "Understandable dear. Now please, do leave so I can work in peace."

"Apologies for the interruption."

All eyes snapped around to the entrance of the Hospital Wing, where a square-jawed witch with close-cropped grey hair and a square-shaped monocle clothed in black robes was striding towards the group, followed by a woman in her mid-twenties who sported gold hair cut at her neck and was carrying a clip board, along with a young woman in her early-twenties with short, spikey bubble-gum pink hair and dark, mischievous eyes clothed in dark brown trench coat.

"Madam Bones?" Professor McGonagall gasped in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

The woman regarded the Transfiguration Teacher with a calculating gaze. "My Presence was requested by Heiress Potter. She and I have been in contact in recent months to deal with several matters concerning Albus Dumbledore and his lack of action as her Magical Guardian. I received a letter at 0400 hours this morning requesting my presence here at this time. I was expecting to be greeted at the Great Hall, but when I saw the Dementors retreating with haste, I assumed Ms. Potter would be here, as I have been told by my niece that she apparently has horrible luck and ends up in the Hospital Wing on a regular basis."

Hermione snuck a look at the Headmaster, and was interested to see he looked to be shocked at what Madam Bones was saying.

"And Considering what I just heard," Madam Bones continued, "Chief Warlock Dumbledore has failed miserably in his duties as Heiress Potter's Magical Guardian. Mr. Black," the woman said to Sirius, who stiffened as he was called out. "You and I will need to talk, seeing as no one here is attempting to arrest you, I'd say some interesting information has come up concerning yourself. Do try and get cleaned up between now and tomorrow morning. I would prefer you put your best foot forward while you speak with me. Auror Tonks?" the woman intoned to the young woman with the spikey pink hair.

'Tonks' practically bounced forwards, an expression of obviously forced amusement plastered to her face. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Stay here and watch over Ms. Potter. She and I have much to discuss and I'd prefer it if she got as much rest as she could before we speak at length. Ensure that she is not disturbed by her housemates; those present excluded; and that the Headmaster does not enter the Hospital Wing to speak with any of the three unless specifically requested by Ms. Potter. It appears that I need to have a nice long chat with Mr. Pettigrew." The woman said, shooting a chilling glare at the Animagus; whom Hermione had just realized was laying prone on the bed across from Aela, still bound in black chains and gagged, a look of extreme terror etched onto his face as he beheld Madam Bones; who was known for being incorruptible and quite strict when it came to upholding the law, the punishments always fitting the crimes, no matter how much money the criminal tried to bribe her with.

The woman paid no mind to Minister Fudge or the Executioner as she flicked her wand, causing Pettigrew to rise off the bed with a whimper before he started floating towards her. Her intense blue eyes locked on Professor Snape for a moment before she addressed him. "Severus, I'll need your strongest vial of Veritaserum, as I don't trust Mr. Pettigrew to speak the truth willingly. Meet me in the Dungeons in ten minutes."

The Potions Master jolted and quickly rushed out of the room, surprising Hermione, as she didn't think anyone past the Headmaster could make him run like that.

A gentle hand landed on Hermione's shoulder, causing her head to snap around to see Madam Pomfrey at her side with a vial of clear liquid. "Drink this, Ms. Granger," the older woman said. "It'll help you sleep. Any talking you need to do is best left for tomorrow."

Hermione wanted to argue, but looking around, she saw that Ron was already out cold and Aela seemed to have finally fallen asleep, her visage looking a fair bit better than when they had entered the Hospital Wing. With a sigh, Hermione nodded her head and tilted her head back, allowing Madam Pomfrey to pour the potion down her throat.

It tasted vaguely of strawberries, a welcome change from the usual horrid tasting potions that one drank to heal one's self. Almost instantly, Hermione felt her body grow heavy, eyes almost slamming shut as she laid back in the bed, Professor McGonagall lifting her legs to place under the sheets after removing her trainers. She turned her head to watch her friend, the girl's raven-hair spread around her skull as she snored softly to Hermione's right.

The last thing Hermione saw was Aela's sleeping form before she too succumbed to sleep.

* * *

_**First things First- Translations:**_

_**Bha ag innse dhut Albus! Thuirt mi riut gur e na daoine sin an seòrsa Muggle a bu mhiosa, ach cha do dh'èist thu rium! Agus seall air na thachair dhi! Mhallaich thu, am fuilteach gobhar fuilteach, amadan le clach!**_"- I told you Albus! I told you those people were the absolute worst kind of Muggle, but you didn't listen to me! And look at what happened to her! Curse you, you bloody goat-buggering, stone-brained fool!

_**Second:**_

_**A Guest (i'm assuming you're a Guest because i'm not seeing a name attached to the comment) commented that I Based Aela Potter on Aela the Huntress from Skyrim. To be perfectly honest, i didn't even think of her until that comment. Her name Aela is the English version of the Greek word 'Aello' which translates into Storm Wind or Whirlwind. And 'Tala' simply means 'she-wolf'...i thought it fit at the time.**_

_**Third (because i know y'all are going to ask this):**_

**_In my story, there are multiple kinds of Werewolf. Going from most common to least:_**

**_Bitten- The most common. They can learn to control themselves during their transformations provided that they actually put the time and effort into learning._**

**_Spelled- These fellows are similar to Native American Skin-Changers in the aspect that their transformation is entirely voluntary and requires a ritual to utilize it. They are in complete control at all times._**

**_Cursed- These poor bastards are; as the named suggests; turned using powerful curses that turn the person in question into lupine monsters with only one goal: Kill or Turn every living being in sight._**

**_Born- Born Werewolves are the Rarest of the Lycanthrope types. As the name suggests, they are born a Werewolf, and as such their Wolf is a part of who they are, granting them a great amount of strength, speed, durability, agility and enhanced senses even when in human form. They are only wild during their first transformations and even then act only as True Wolves do, hostile only to those who threaten them._**

_**Oh, and any Werewolf that uses the Wolf's Bane potion is essentially drugging the Wolf into being Docile, hence why Lupin acted so aggressive towards Hermione, Aela and the others: his Wolf was going through Withdrawal, which made him cranky...er.**_

**_Fourth: Several people (you know who you are) have asked me 'Why start in Third Year? Why not start from Year One and go from there?" Honestly? i tried several times and got about half-way through when i realized that Hermione and Ron would notice something was off pretty early the way i was writing it, so i simply backed up and started from the end of third year so i could structure it from there to work how i liked it. Sorry to those who don't like how i wrote it, i'm sorry. It just worked that way for me._**

**_Well, i think that covers everything i needed to say right here so...i guess i'll see you guys later. Ta ta!_**


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